obfuscate

American  

[ob-fuh-skeyt, ob-fuhs-keyt] / ˈɒb fəˌskeɪt, ɒbˈfʌs keɪt /

verb (used with object)

obfuscated, obfuscating

1. to make unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately.

   Do not obfuscate the issue with irrelevant detail.

   Synonyms:

   muddy, cloud

2. to confuse or bewilder.

   The authors achieve their purpose without obfuscating the reader by using too much technical terminology.

   Synonyms:

   perplex, muddle

   Antonyms:

   illuminate, clarify

3. to darken.

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verb (used without object)

obfuscated, obfuscating

1. to make something unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately; speak or write evasively or obscurely.

   Notice how she obfuscates when asked directly about her conversations with the defendant.

obfuscate British  

/ ˈɒbfʌsˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to obscure or darken

2. to perplex or bewilder

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Other Word Forms

• obfuscation noun
• obfuscatory adjective
• unobfuscated adjective

Etymology

Origin of obfuscate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin obfuscātus “darkened,” past participle of obfuscāre “to darken,” from Latin ob- ob- + fusc(us) “dark” + -āre, infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

Google recently detected an even bigger threat in the wild: bot-enabled software that can obfuscate its own code to evade detection and create new malicious capabilities on the fly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

“I was completely OK with it,” she said, adding that the final report “did not in any way obfuscate anything.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025

While Ferguson gets ample time to obfuscate, other, better scholars get little time to squeeze in some truth.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

Patel is not the only nominee to feel the need to obfuscate his background.

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2025

Firstly because he had no idea what obfuscate meant.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill